Giving Yourself Permission to Pause
How Stillness Can Help You Remember Who You Are
We live in a culture that worships busyness.
Always on. Always productive. Always just a little behind.
The average person checks their phone over 80 times a day. Inbox overload is the new normal. Even our downtime is filled with noise—scrolling, comparing, reacting. We wear exhaustion like a badge of honor - our fatigue has become a measure of our worth.
But deep down, many of us are asking the same quiet question: “Is this really how life is really supposed to feel?”
At Fasting in Paradise, we believe the answer begins with something radically simple:
The pause.
The Power of Slowing Down
Pausing isn’t laziness. Contrary to what your ever-growing to do list is telling you, it’s also not avoidance or weakness.
It’s where your healing begins.
When you give yourself permission to slow down–or pause– you create space for parts of yourself that have long been buried beneath responsibility, expectation, and performance. Clarity comes to the surface. Creativity reappears. Joy becomes accessible again. The quiet allows something to resurface: your intuition.
In short, taking a pause helps you remember who you were before the world told you who to be.
Why Your Brain (and Body) Need the Pause
Rest Is Not a Luxury—It’s Biology
From a scientific perspective, rest isn’t optional.
It’s essential for:
Nervous system regulation - Rest activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) - the system of “rest and digest”, which counterbalances the stress-induced sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). PSNS activation promotes relaxation, reduces anxiety, and supports overall mental health
Cellular repair - Rest (particularly sleep) is vital to allow for cellular repair processes, including DNA repair, autophagy, and the maintenance of cellular integrity
Emotional processing- Rest plays a critical role in emotional regulation and processing, aiding in the consolidation of emotional memories and reducing emotional reactivity
Mental clarity and focus- Adequate rest enhances cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and problem-solving, contributing to improved mental clarity and focus.
Without rest, the body stays in a chronic fight-or-flight state. Cortisol is chronically elevated. The microbiome suffers. Circadian rhythms are out of sync. Inflammation rises. Over time, our health—physical and emotional—begins to unravel.
Rest is Essential for Repair - and Autophagy
In another blog, I talk about the incredible process happening in our bodies called autophagy. Autophagy is like your cells’ internal housekeeping system. It runs quietly in the background, helping to clear out old or damaged parts like worn-out proteins or organelles. It protects us from disease and slows the aging process (among other things!). When your body is under stress—like during 24+ hr fasting, intense activity, or low oxygen—this cleanup process kicks into high gear.
However, when we are in high stress state for too long, this vital process is hindered. We NEED rest in order to allow autophagy to continue to work its magic in our bodies.
Deep rest doesn’t directly “trigger” autophagy like fasting does—but it supports the conditions that enable it.
Autophagy is most powerfully activated by:
Fasting or calorie restriction
Intense exercise
Low insulin and mTOR activity
Low energy availability (like low glucose/ATP)
But deep rest (like slow-wave sleep, meditation, or participating in activities that activate the PSNS) plays a critical supportive role by:
Reducing stress hormones like cortisol, which otherwise suppress autophagy when chronically elevated.
Lowering inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS), allowing cells to shift from survival mode (damage control) to maintenance and repair.
Enhancing melatonin production, which may modestly stimulate autophagy—melatonin is known to protect mitochondria and support cellular cleanup.
Promoting circadian rhythm alignment, which tightly regulates when autophagy occurs in organs like the liver and brain.
Unfortunately, modern life doesn’t offer many opportunities to reset. Which is why we have to create them.
What Does “Taking a Pause” Actually Look Like?
There’s no one way to do it. But here are a few ideas that I love:
A silent morning walk without your phone
10-15 minute grounding practice (paired with sunset)
Time spent journaling or asking simple questions like: Who am I when I’m not performing? What is most important right now?
A gentle yoga practice or meditation session
Spending time in nature (without your phone!)
The common thread? Presence. Quiet. Space.
Listening for the Whispers
In the stillness, something beautiful happens. The mind starts to soften. The constant chatter slows. Fear-based thoughts start to be replaced by ideas, creativity, and optimism.
You may begin to hear what’s been there all along—your own inner wisdom.
This is your intuition. Your deep sense of knowing. That feeling of “yes, this is right.”
When you stop reacting to the world and start listening within, you don’t lose yourself. You finally find yourself. The you YOU created, not the one the world told you you should be.
Turning On What’s Been Waiting
The pause doesn’t just soothe. It awakens.
Your passions begin to rise again. Your purpose takes shape. You begin to feel more alive—not because you’ve added more, but because you’ve finally cleared the noise.
This is the work of self-reconnection. And it starts with permission.
Permission to slow down. To listen. To be.
Ready to Go Deeper?
At Fasting in Paradise, our retreats are designed around the radical power of pause. We combine stillness, science-backed fasting, and low-toxin environments to support your reset on every level—physical, emotional, and intuitive.
We keep our gatherings small, intimate, and deeply curated—so every guest receives the space, support, and serenity they deserve.
If this speaks to something deep within you, we invite you to stay in the loop.
We’ll be opening a limited number of spots soon—and they’ll go fast.
Join the private interest list to be the first to know when retreat details are released.
No pressure. Just a gentle nudge when the time is right.